The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of geranium, botanically known as Pelargonium peltatum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99.
xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating new ivy geranium varieties with intense violet flower color and good cultivation ability. xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 originated from a hybridization made by the inventor Angelika Utecht in a controlled breeding program in Galar, Gran Canaria, Spain, in 1995.
The female parent was a hybrid seedling, No. 323-1(unpatented), derived from a cross between xe2x80x98Guishivaxe2x80x99, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,351, red-flowered, and xe2x80x98Fisamxe2x80x99, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,327, with light violet flowers, and (the seedling) characterized by red, double flowers, medium-green, zoned foliage, and medium tall, bushy plant habit. The male parent of xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99, seedling no. 300-2 (unpatented), was derived from self-pollinating xe2x80x98Fisrainxe2x80x99, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,533, which had violet, single-type flowers, medium green foliage with relatively strong zonation and compact plant habit. xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 was selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by Angelika Utecht in 1996 in a controlled environment in Galdar, Gran Canaria, Spain. The first act of asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 was accomplished when vegetative cuttings were taken from the initial selection in the fall of 1996 in a controlled environment in Caldar, Gran Canaria, Spain, by, or under the supervision of, Angelika Utecht. Horticultural examination of plants grown from cuttings of the plant initiated in May 1997 in Hillscheid, Germany, and continuing thereafter, has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and day length.
The following observations, measurements, and comparisons describe plants grown in Hillscheid, Germany, under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99, which in combination distinguish this geranium as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. purple-pink colored, semi-double to double flowers;
2. medium-sized, roughly semi-spherically shaped umbels;
3. light medium green, distinctly zoned, retatively small foliage;
4. early to medium spring flowering response, and rich flowering throughout the summer; and
5. medium tall, bushy and round plant habit.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the most similar in comparison to xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 is the variety xe2x80x98Fisamxe2x80x99. In comparison to xe2x80x98Fisamxe2x80x99, xe2x80x98Fisroccoxe2x80x99 has similarly shaped flowers with similar kind of markings on petals, but with a more pinkish hue of flower color, somewhat umbels, and foliage with a more glossy surface, and slightly taller plant habit.